


I Leave My Heart

by FirebirdsDaughter



Series: Game Demos - Works of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid [5]
Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Afterlife, Coming back from the dead, Hope, Other, discussing death, discussing moving on, discussing regrets and memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 20:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FirebirdsDaughter/pseuds/FirebirdsDaughter
Summary: Wandering somewhere on the border between life and death, Hanaya Taiga encounters an unexpectedly familiar face.And she has something to say about the situation.





	I Leave My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a short little thing I pounded out after the most recent episode in-between the other stuff I've been working on (other fics, trying to write a novel, etc. etc.). It's not complex, just a little one shot that came into my head and wouldn't go away.  
> Hope y'all like it. As soon as I have time, I'll try and post some of the longer stuff I've been working on.  
> Note: This is a pretty fluffy little piece. Which is good.  
> Because the other stuff I've been working on (at least for the Ex-Aid fandom) is ANGSTY.

Death was exceedingly foggy, apparently.  
He couldn’t see his hand in front of his face; then again, how would he know if you were supposed to be able to see your hand in front of your face when you were dead? After all, it wasn’t like he’d died before.  
That aside, he wasn’t achieving anything by standing in place, so he started forward, trying to feel his way through the fog. It wasn’t unpleasant, exactly. It felt almost like the air was moving around him, pushing him along—almost… **Breathing**.  
He wasn’t sure how long he walked for, but eventually, the fog began to give way to light. Stepping out of the last wisps of cloud, he discovered he was standing at the edge of an abnormally brightly coloured valley, a shallow river bubbling along just across it. Over the river, he could see that the inexplicably perfect scenery extended beyond, possibly infinitely—at least as far as his eyes could see. He was about to step forward when he heard a voice nearby.  
“… Hanaya-sensei?”  
Her voice was quiet, shy, almost like she wasn’t sure it was him. He recognised her intonations instantly, however, looking desperately around for the source.  
And there she was, clutching her hands together nervously in front of her, smoothing them anxiously over her hair, touching up her bangs.  
When he just stared, Momose Saki smiled, then waved.  
“Um… Hey?” She sounded like she wasn’t sure what to say in this situation.  
Neither was he.  
“I… Uh… What are you doing here?” He tried to sound natural about it, walking over to her. They were the only people, surrounded by the eerie stillness of the meadow; he stuffed his hands into his pockets, scuffing his foot on the ground uncomfortably.  
She laughed gaily at the question, which surprised him. “Uh, hello? Dead girl?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “What’s your excuse?”  
“Also dead.”  
“Hmm…” She eyed him suspiciously. “You might want to reconsider that diagnosis.”  
He raised his eyebrows at her. “You a doctor now?”  
“Well, technically I’m a vet. But I’m also a spirit myself, so I know more about these things than you do.”  
She seemed to be enjoying lording the knowledge over him, positively beaming as she spoke, so he didn’t press that aspect of the conversation; instead he switched to another line of questioning that he just com into his mind. “You shouldn’t even **be** here, though. You’re not **dead** , just data.”  
“A girl can be dead if she wants to.”  
“Why would you **want** to be dead? I thought you couldn’t leave him!”  
Sorrow flashed across her face, and her eyes flitted downward. “… I’d rather die than watch him destroy himself to save me.”  
So that was what this was about.  
He stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not like that, Momose-san.”  
She looked up at him, and her smile crept back, just a little. “Thank you, Hanaya-sensei, but you don’t know him quite like I do.” Her eyes twinkled, and she clasped her hands behind her back before continuing. “It’s okay. Really. He’ll be okay. We both will. But that’s…” She slipped out from under his hand and bounced on the balls of her feet away—further into the meadow, looking out across the river, then turning back. “That’s why you can’t go just yet, Hanaya-sensei. There’s far too many people that need you right now.”  
He stared at her. “What?”  
She giggled. Her voice was starting to sound airy and a little distant. “Listen to you. So clueless, even now.” She stepped back toward him. “I’m dead. I have been for five years now. I’ve been gone too long. I’m sorry to have to go—I’ll miss everyone. But…” She nodded thoughtfully to herself, continuing before he could interject. “… But I’m at peace with it. I lived a good life, for all it was a little short. Sure, there was stuff I wanted to do, but, honestly, that stuff can be done by someone else. The world will keep on turning if I’m not there. And I’ll always watch over the people I miss.” She smiled again, squaring her shoulders. “We made this decision together, so we’re going to save you together.”  
He stared at her for a little longer, to see if she was done with her speech. Then, the exact meaning of her last sentences hit him. “You… You don’t mean that Brave… No, it’s because of me you-”  
“ **Live** , then.” She interrupted. “If you want to do right by my memory, then live—enough for both of us, if you like.” She stood on tiptoe and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek that felt like the brush of a feather. “And take care of my Hiiro. I leave my heart with the Kamen Riders.”  
With that, she planted both hands on his chest and shoved him forcibly back into the mist. As he fell, he heard her voice, one last time, a windy whisper in the back of his mind.  
_**Live**_.

**Author's Note:**

> Other things I've realised: for someone who wasn't big on Saki's character when originally introduced to her, she seems to be wandering into my fics a LOT. Wonder why? I guess it's a side effect of my growing to like her more.


End file.
